NY Jets: 4 players performing at an elite level so far in 2021

The NY Jets are a 1-3 team for a reason. Up until this past week against the Tennessee Titans, this is a team that had been playing some very, very bad football.

The Jets roster remains one of the weaker overall groups in the NFL and it's clear that they are still a ways away from being a true contender. We know all this.

But what many might not realize is that this Jets team has plenty of talent on it, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.

And despite their 1-3 record, there are a number of players on the roster who are playing at a very high level right now. They may get overlooked by the national audience, but that shouldn't be used to diminish how well they've played.

In fact, a handful of players on the Jets are currently performing among the best players at their respective positions. They're playing at an elite level.

The purpose of this article is not to be hyperbolic either. This isn't some click-bait, sensationalized story about a few Jets players who have exceeded expectations. Far from it.

This article will detail four players who have, by most accounts, played at an All-Pro level through the first four weeks of the season.

It's a small sample size, sure. And it's unlikely that all four players keep up the pace they're on. But as of the time of writing, these four players are performing as well as anyone at their respective positions.

Let's take a look at four Jets players who have legitimately been elite through Week 4.

4. Michael Carter II, CB, NY Jets

Michael Carter II has been one of the best slot cornerbacks in the NFL through four weeks. And in a talented crop of rookie cornerbacks featuring the likes of Jaycee Horn, Patrick Surtain, Eric Stokes, and Asante Samuel Jr., Carter has been just as effective.

That's despite the former Duke standout receiving very little pre-draft hype and being drafted all the way in the fifth round.

Through four weeks, Carter is Pro Football Focus' third-highest graded rookie cornerback behind only Nate Hobbs and Samuel. But where he's truly shined is in relation to his fellow slot corners.

Carter currently ranks second among all slot cornerbacks with just 72 yards allowed in four games (minimum of 80 percent coverage snaps). Only Bryce Callahan of the Denver Broncos, one of the highest-paid slot corners in football, has allowed fewer.

Carter also ranks second behind Callahan in yards per coverage snap (0.65). Although he's surrendered 13 catches, those 13 catches have gone for just the 72 previously mentioned yards.

He's allowed a few catches, averaging a little over three a game, but none of them have been big gains. In fact, Carter has played the most coverage snaps of all cornerbacks in the NFL without allowing a catch of 15+ yards.

Carter's 6.2 yards per completion ranks fourth among all cornerbacks and was actually first going into Week 4.

He's been one of the best slot cornerbacks in the NFL. He won't receive the same recognition as others given his unglamorous position and the team he plays for.

But make no mistake about it. Michael Carter II has been borderline elite through four weeks.

3. John Franklin-Myers, DE, NY Jets

John Franklin-Myers has to be one of the early candidates for the Jets' breakout player of the year. Following a promising 2020 season, Franklin-Myers has emerged as one of the Jets' best players in 2021.

The former waiver-wire pickup has three sacks in four games and ranks among the league leaders in total pressures. In fact, he's among elite company when it comes to doing what he does best.

Franklin-Myers ranks fifth among all pass rushers in pressures when rushing from the left side (all but one of his pass-rush snaps this season have come from the left side).

He's tied with Von Miller, Cameron Jordan, and Micah Parsons (17) trailing only Maxx Crosby (25), Joey Bosa (23), Danielle Hunter (21), and Jadeveon Clowney (18). That's superstar company right there.

Franklin-Myers is one of just two players with 15+ tackles, 3+ sacks, and a forced fumble so far this season. This is despite the fact that he's been nursing a calf injury for the last couple of weeks.

While he's not quite at the level of Myles Garrett and T.J Watt as a pass rusher, nor is he even the best pass rusher on his team (more on that in a little bit), Franklin-Myers is producing at a Pro Bowl level through four weeks.

He has the simple box score stats to back up his production as well as the analytics to support just how effective he has been.

John Franklin-Myers is one of the best players on the Jets roster right now. And soon, he'll hopefully be paid as such.

2. Bryce Hall, CB, NY Jets

I don't think many people realize just how good Bryce Hall has been to start the 2021 season. Sure, it's a small sample size and he hasn't exactly faced the NFL's best wide receivers.

But Hall has played like one of the best cornerbacks in football through four weeks. And that's something no one could have seen coming at the start of the year.

Among cornerbacks with at least 80 percent of coverage snaps played, Hall has allowed the second-fewest receptions and yards of all qualified players, per PFF — and by a significant margin too.

Only Casey Hayward of the Las Vegas Raiders has been in Hall's ballpark this season. Hall has allowed just seven catches through four games. No other qualified player aside from Hayward has surrendered fewer than 10 catches.

On top of that, Hall has allowed just 100 receiving yards which, again, is second-best only to Hayward.

Not only has Hall succeeded at a high rate when targeted (he ranks third in completion percentage against with a 50 percent rate), but he's barely even being targeted in the first place.

Among cornerbacks with at least 80 percent of coverage snaps, only Hayward has been targeted fewer times. Quarterbacks have thrown Hall's way just 14 times through four games for a rate of 10.7 coverage snaps per target (also second in the NFL behind Hayward).

Hall has been a complete shutdown cornerback in every sense of the term through the first four weeks of the season.

Quarterbacks are rarely looking to attack him, and when they do, they're turned away at a higher rate than almost every player in the NFL — with the exception of Hayward and William Jackson III.

Bryce Hall has been a top-10 cornerback through four weeks. And that might even be too pessimistic of a ranking.

1. Bryce Huff, DE, NY Jets

Bryce Hall isn't the only "Bryce H" who has performed at an elite level for the Jets. And much like Hall, I'm not sure most people realize just how incredible Bryce Huff has been through four weeks.

Huff has been one of the best edge rushers in football by pretty much every metric. He's played at the level of the likes of Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt, and Joey Bosa.

And no, that isn't an exaggeration.

Huff is fourth among all qualified edge defenders in pass-rush win rate behind only Watt, Bosa, and Garrett. At the same time, he's also third in run-stop win rate behind just Sam Hubbard and Cameron Jordan.

That's right, not only has Huff been a top-four most efficient pass rusher in football, but he's been a top-three most efficient run stopper. Jadeveon Clowney is the only other player to rank in the top-10 in both categories.

Huff ranks in the top-four in both.

No matter what your definition of elite is, that has to fall under that category. His 79.7 PFF pass-rush grade is good for 14th among all edge defenders ahead of the likes of Nick Bosa, Von Miller, and Robert Quinn.

He trails just Garrett, Chandler Jones, and Quinn in sacks when rushing from the right side (all but two of his pass-rush snaps have come from that side) with three.

By all accounts, Bryce Huff has not only been one of the best pass rushers in the NFL in 2021, but he's also been just as effective in run defense.

Just imagine this Jets defensive line with a healthy Carl Lawson. Even without Lawson, however, Huff has been elite through the first four weeks of the season.